Harmless Fun Between Friends
by Grace Kay
Summary: Bethany finds solace in the arms of Isabela. First installment of the Sea and Sunshine series


_A/N: My prompt, from Raven Sinead - "Isabella comforting Bethany after Hawke's been injured. I think Leandra should be worried, and haranguing Bethany because she can't heal all that well, and Bethany finds solace in the arms of Isabella"_

_This is what I came up with... Happy Birthday, Raven Sinead! I hope this brightens your weekend a little._

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Harmless Fun Between Friends

Bethany ran out of her Uncle Gamlen's house, willing the tears in her eyes not to fall until she found someplace with some privacy.

_Really, Bethany, you'd think you could at least have learned how to heal properly, given all the hiding we've done for you._

Her mother's voice came to her unbidden, speaking words she'd actually heard just a few minutes before.

_Your sister's life will often hang on what you can do. Why can't you do this simple thing? Your father could do something like this in his sleep, Bethany. If you can't do it, then move over and let me do what I can._

That had done it. The tears spilled over then, remembering how deeply her mother's dismissal had cut. She had fled when the tears threatened, Gamlen's mocking words about how delicate her sensibilities were following her out the door. Now she trotted through the streets of Lowtown, not knowing where she was headed, only knowing that she needed to be away from her family. Marian would be _pissed_ if she had been awake enough to hear how Leandra and Gamlen had treated her sister. But she was not. They had both been injured, Marian more so, and she could not do anything to protect her.

Bethany began to limp, her tears subsiding as her own injury caught up with her. Looking around, she saw that her feet had brought her to the Hanged Man, where both Varric and Isabela liked to spend their time. There might be supplies there, to bind her wounds, and surely one or the other of her friends would know some wound care. And she had a bit of coin. Perhaps she could spend the night here and face her family's accusations about her abilities in the morning… It was a waste of coin, but she could not picture going home this night.

Opening the door, she limped inside, the dingy place's inhabitants barely acknowledging her presence. Hobbling over to the barman, she began to inquire about Isabela or Varric's presence when a voice by her ear sent a chill down her spine.

"Bethany, what could you possibly be doing here _alone_?" the voice asked suggestively.

Bethany smiled, turning to find Isabela _very_ close. "I… need your help. Can we speak in your room?"

"My, my. Aren't _you_ forward," Isabela replied with a smirk. Without another word, she turned and slunk off toward the back hallway, her hips swaying dramatically in the half-light of the tavern. Bethany followed behind her, the limp in her right leg much more pronounced now.

Isabela's seductive look continued as she held the door open for Bethany to enter her room… at least until she noticed Bethany's limp. Taking Bethany's hand, she halted her progress. "Andraste's tits, Bethany! What happened to you? Where's Hawke?"

Bethany groaned. "Can I sit down first? It's really starting to hurt…"

"Of course, silly me." She led Bethany to the bed, pushing her to a sit before hurrying around the room, lighting the few candles she had to keep the darkness at bay.

"What happened, Bethany? It's not like you to let anyone close enough to lay a hand on you. You little virgin, you."

Bethany's cheeks flared. "I… why do you always bring that into it?!" Huffing indignantly, she pressed on, hoping to get away from the subject of sex, which never failed to thoroughly embarrass her. "Marian and I were jumped on our way home from seeing Aveline. The first hit was the only one that connected. Marian's is worse. But the bandits' are worst, as they're dead now."

"Of course they are!" Isabela replied matter-of-factly. "You're Hawkes. No way someone's getting the jump on you so easily. But have you had it looked at? I know healing magic doesn't work on the caster…"

Bethany shook her head. "No." Isabela knelt in front of her immediately, fingers gently pulling back the sliced fabric of her homespun trousers. For some reason it sent Bethany's stomach into backflips. "I tried to heal Marian, but I was too weak and drained, too jumpy directly after the battle. And Mother made it worse, always haranguing me about my abilities…"

Isabela clucked her tongue disbelievingly. "Has she _seen_ you? You're amazing!"

"Yes, well… I tend to lose my confidence around her. And the wound didn't help any…"

"Well, don't worry too much, Beth. You know you're good; we _all_ know you're good. You just need to remember it when you're around your mother." Isbela stood abruptly. "C'mon. I need to look at it closer. It might need stitches, but it _definitely_ needs to be cleaned and bound. Which means the trousers need to come off." Bethany stood dutifully as Isabela strode over to the door, calling for a bottle of whiskey before coming to help Bethany with her boots. The whiskey came as Bethany's trousers were pulled off. The younger Hawke did not miss the knowing smirk the barmaid gave Isabela before the door was shut and the pirate was grabbing a candle and heading back to Bethany's side.

"Take a drink," Isabela ordered, holding the bottle to the mage.

Bethany furrowed her brows. "I thought that was for cleaning the wound?"

Isabela sighed, shaking her head slightly. "It's for that, too. But this probably isn't going to feel nice. So _drink_. A swallow at minimum."

Frowning, Bethany obeyed, tipping the bottle back. It hit her like a kick to the face, threatening to scald out her sinuses as she coughed a little of it up. Isabela was there immediately, a hand on Bethany's shoulder to steady her. Bethany got the rest of the offensive liquid down, gasping for breath once she'd swallowed.

"Come to think of it, I've never seen you go for anything harder than ale when we drink. Sorry about that. But that just means it'll _work_." Isabela left her side, grabbing up her candle once more and holding it close to the deep cut on Bethany's shin.

Bethany let out a hiss of pain as Isabela wiped away the blood, seeking to better see what she was working with. She hissed in sympathy as she got a good look. "It needs to be cleaned and then stitched. How you were running on this I'll never know. I can see the _bone_."

"Dammit, if we'd only taken Aveline up on her offer of an escort home…" Bethany lamented as Isabela regained her feet, fetching water and a clean rag from the basin in the corner.

"If it wasn't Lady Man Hands herself, then the guard would just be injured, as well! If someone could take the Hawke girls by surprise, then those guards wouldn't stand a _chance_." Coming back to Bethany, she sat upon the ground, folding her legs and placing the mage's foot in her lap. "Keep this here. I'll clean it, and then we have to stitch it up. It… it really won't feel nice. May as well take another swig of that swill now, Sunshine, give it a chance to kick in."

Behtany giggled. "Varric's the only one who usually calls me that." This time, she was much more able to keep the whiskey from entering her nose.

Isabela smiled, lifting the thoroughly soaked rag and touching it to Bethany's leg. She tried not to flinch, but it stung something awful. "I know. But it's… an apt nickname."

"It is?"

Isabela stopped what she was doing, looking up into Bethany's eyes. Her amber eyes shone with a warm light in the candle's glow. "You light up the room, Bethany. Did you not know?"

Bethany just blinked stupidly, unable to come up with a response. Instead, she was completely captivated by those _eyes_. She didn't even feel it when Isabela looked back down, completing the job of cleaning Bethany's leg by splashing some of the whiskey over it. Then, she pulled out a needle and silk thread she had snatched from next to the basin, kept on-hand for her own injuries, should she get them. Testing the needle's sharpness, she threaded it and held it next to Bethany's skin.

"Have you had stitches before, Sunshine?"

Bethany shook her head. "This is honestly the worst I've been hurt…"

Isabela smiled. "Lucky girl. But you should look away, at least for the first one."

Bethany dutifully averted her eyes, but she honestly barely felt it anymore, not since the whiskey had seeped in, stinging as it did its job of cleaning the wound. She felt a sting, a prick along the edges of the valley of the cut, igniting its fire once more, but only for a moment. Then she only felt a strange tugging sensation, before the fire returned, slightly removed. Looking down, she saw that the fire was the needle entering her flesh, aggravating the wound. She was strangely fascinated.

After a time, she asked the first question that came to her, her mind having wandered as she watched the hypnotizing movements of Isabela's hands. Her hands had always been lovely to Bethany. "What were you? Before you were a pirate, I mean."

Isbela glanced up. "I… had a husband. He didn't beat me. That's about the _best_ can say about it…"

"So you left him?!"

Isabela kept her eyes on her work as she answered. "He was murdered. By my lover. It was all very… Antivan."

"Oh." Bethany stared stupidly for a moment, processing what Isabela had just said as the pirate stitched her leg. "I don't think I'd like to live in Antiva."

Isabela's laugh was rich like honey. "Oh, you sweet thing. It is _wonderful_ there. But there is a lot of intrigue, it's true. Same with Orlais, I'm afraid. You'd be best staying where people play their cards out in the open, with your sweet, trusting heart."

"You speak of me as though I'm a child," Bethany said with a slight frown. Suddenly the idea that Isabela could be so close to her physically and think of her as a child bothered her a great deal.

"I don't think you're a child, Bethany. But you do have a delicious aura of innocence that I think _some_ might try to take advantage of. It worries me sometimes, that someone might look at you and see an easy target, someone who can be manipulated." She finished her stitching, tying it off and cutting the thread with her teeth. "There, all done. Take the stitches out in a couple of days, and _be careful_ until then."

Bethany was still frowning. "You think I can be manipulated? Taken advantage of?"

Isabela placed a hand on her bare knee, seating herself next to the girl on the bed. "That's not what I said. I think _others_ might look at you and decide to _try_. I have no illusion that you'll do anything but drop them on their heads, but… if it's a Templar that tries? You can handle yourself in almost any situation, but Kirkwall is _crawling_ with Templars, Bethany."

"I'm _aware_, Isabela. Maker, you're as bad as Marian and Mother," she mumbled, getting to her feet. "Thanks for cleaning me up, but I'll be going now."

Isabela's rich laughter floated to her once more. "Bethany, don't be ridiculous! You know I didn't mean you're less capable!" She rose to her feet. "Just that I worry about you!" Bethany ignored her, instead trying to pull on her trousers. Unfortunately, between the newly-stitched sword wound on her leg and the alcohol in her, she failed miserably, instead tripping over nothing.

Isabela was there, however, quick as a cat, catching her before she could fall. Bethany dropped her trousers in the confusion, grasping Isabela's strong arms with both hands to steady herself. Looking up, the "thank you" died on her lips as she found Isabela's eyes on hers, only inches away. She was momentarily lost, unable to breath, those amber eyes seeming to pull her in.

"You… should stay here, Bethany," Isabela breathed, only partially breaking the spell. "You shouldn't be walking on that just yet."

Bethany could only nod, once, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Her head swam the tiniest bit, but she didn't think it was from the alcohol. She was pretty sure it was from Isabela's proximity. Her body was responding in confusing ways, blood seeming to pound both in her temples and between her legs, and she was curiously aware of the points of her nipples pressed up against her corset. Her heart skipped a beat as Isabela pulled the mage a little closer, her arms snaking around Bethany's waist.

"Come on, Sunshine. Let's get you to bed."

Bethany allowed herself to be led to the bedside, but when Isabela began to pull away, the mage's grip tightened, her fingers digging into the material on the pirate's shoulders. "Don't…"

"Don't what?" Isabela asked with a smile, her eyes taking on a look that made Bethany's heart somehow sink into her stomach and leap into her throat.

"Don't… go away," Bethany managed, completely unable to break contact with those intoxicating eyes. Isabela smirked slightly, her hands tightening around Bethany's waist.

"Don't go away? Why, Bethany! You'd think there was something you _want_ from me," she teased.

"I… I do," Bethany breathed, her hands moving to wrap around Isabela's neck almost of their own accord. "I want… I'm… I'm not sure."

"Let me help you out then," Isabela murmured, before she leaned forward the few inches required and placed her lips over Bethany's own. The pirate's lips felt like warm silk, sliding over hers. Bethany had kissed someone before. A couple of someones, in fact. But it had never been this… sure. Isabela was completely certain in what she was doing.

As the pirate pulled back slightly, Bethany decided that she liked it better with her, and didn't want it to stop. So she pushed forward with her toes… only to trip again as it pulled uncomfortably on her stitches.

"I've got you, sweet thing," Isabela purred, practically lifting Bethany off her feet as she pulled her onto the bed. "There, that's better, don't you think?" Bethany lay on her back, arms still wrapped tightly around Isabela's neck, the pirate spread out on top of her. Isabela's weight was glorious, as was the feeling of her hips pressed against Bethany's, her legs sliding along the mage's, and her breasts… Her breasts had been a point of fascination for Bethany for the few months they'd known each other. They were large and on display, a constant companion that spent its time just below Isabela's beautiful – and slightly exotic – face. Now, those breasts were pressed just above Bethany's own not-insignificant bosom. They threatened to overwhelm her, in fact, to suffocate her in their magnificence.

_What a way to go_, Bethany found herself thinking, before gazing back up into Isabela's captivating amber eyes.

"Is this what you want, Bethany? To spend the night here, with me?"

Bethany's heart hammered into her ribs. Honestly, how it didn't throw Isabela off of her was a mystery. She couldn't speak, could only nod, closing her eyes and surrendering when Isabela's lips closed over hers once more.

The pirate wasted no time in seeking entrance to the young mage's mouth, her tongue probing deliberately against Bethany's lips. Bethany opened her mouth in a slight sigh, and it appeared that was all the invitation Isabela needed, for suddenly Bethany's tongue was tangling with the pirate's, the warm, wet, cinnamon taste of the pirate washing over her.

After several minutes of feverish kissing, however, Isabela finally pulled back, concern in her eyes. "Are you sure, Sunshine? You've never…"

"I want to," Bethany said firmly. "Why not with you?"

"I don't usually bed virgins, sweet thing. They tend to get… attached."

"You sleep with your friends," Bethany countered, keeping Isabela in place with her arms around her neck. "We're friends, aren't we? Friends have a sort of attachment that has nothing to do with romantic love."

"Ah, but you've never _been_ in love," Isabela explained, her eyes taking on a hint of sadness. "So how would you know, sweet thing? How do you know you wouldn't become mad with jealousy tomorrow, when I likely take someone else to my bed? Like your sister? Anders? Fenris?" A small smirk pulled at her lips as she added, "Or Varric and all that _marvelous_ chest hair? You deserve someone who wants to stick around for a little while, who won't break your heart immediately. I _like_ being your friend, Bethany. I wouldn't want to ruin that."

Bethany had no answer. She did _not_ know if she would be jealous. She liked to think that she would not be, but the thought of her being with someone else so soon after being with the mage…

"_Please_, Isabela," she pleaded softly despite her misgivings, closing the distance between them and placing a soft, delicate kiss on the corner of the pirate's mouth. She was very pleased to feel the pirate shudder slightly at the contact, encouraging her to pepper light kisses down Isabela's jaw. "You're so worried about me being manipulated, taken advantage of. Show me what they might offer, from someone I know I can trust to not hurt me. What's the phrase you use? 'Harmless fun between friends'?"

Another shiver. "Maker, I'm tired of denying myself," Isabela breathed, before she dipped her head, seeking out Bethany's lips with her own.

Later, much later, they lay completely naked, legs entwined, Bethany's head on Isabela's shoulder, the pirate running her fingers through the mage's hair.

"You know," Isabela murmured, turning toward Bethany's tangled hair and placing a soft kiss there. "_This_ isn't something I normally do, either."

Bethany lifted her head, resting her chin lightly on one of Isabela's marvelous breasts. "What is?"

"Sticking around afterward," Isabela clarified. "I'm usually one and done, and on with my day."

"Are you… would you like me to leave?" Bethany asked uncertainly. She started to withdraw the hand that had been resting on the pirate's bare stomach, but Isabela caught it before she could, threading her fingers through Bethany's, holding on firmly.

"No, no, Sunshine. That's not what I'm saying at all." She smiled, guiding Bethany's head back to her shoulder with a gentle pressure from the hand buried in her hair. "I'm saying that it's been a long time since I _wanted_ to."

Bethany smiled almost shyly, feeling heat creep into her cheeks as she bashfully buried her face in the pirate's breast. Their coupling had been… delightfully fun. Isabela made her feel confident, and beautiful, and showed her all _sorts_ of things her body could feel that she'd had no idea of beforehand. She had felt _good_. And continued to feel good, though in a much more languid, lie-about way. Really, she felt she could stay here, having a lie-in, for _days_.

"Is that okay?" she asked, peeking up as Isabela laughed at her bashfulness.

Isabela just chuckled. "Yes, sweet thing. I… like you. I can't promise to remain faithful, that you'll be the only one for me. But… I'd like to keep doing this, to spend time together, if you're amenable."

"As long as I'm not passed over for my _sister_, then yes, 'Bela. I think you'd have a lot of trouble keeping me away after what we just did."

Isabela laughed, the movement jostling Bethany a little. Her hand left the mage's hair, and suddenly Bethany found the pirate atop her once more. "Well, if you liked it so much… how about we try it again?"

Bethany's grin mirrored Isabela's. Yes. Yes, she very much wanted to do it again.

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_A/N^2: Just to say - this is my first fic with no smut! Imagine that! Okay, that's all. Carry on!_


End file.
